Always/Never - a quick critical thinking activity for any subject

This game generates dialogue, raises awareness about generalisations and creates an opportunity for children to deepen their understanding of a topic.

The teacher provides a challenge such as: Can you write a true statement about Ancient Greece using the word always or never?

Students work in pairs. They might come up with: Ancient Greeks always used science to guide their lives.

The teacher then selects pupils to say their statements and invite challenge from others. Someone could say: I would like to respectfully challenge your statement because we learnt that Ancient Greeks also took part in religious rituals. And so the discussion continues.

• In English the teacher might say, “Grammar challenge: can you write a true statement about verbs using always or never?”

• You can also use two contrasting concepts, and this variation is a great P4C starter. For example, adults/children: Adults never… Children never… Adults always… Children always…